LOCATION BOYER MI+IL IN OH WIEstablished Series
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Coarse-loamy, mixed, semiactive, mesic Typic Hapludalfs
TYPICAL PEDON: Boyer loamy sand - on a 4 percent slope in a cultivated field. (Colors are for moist soil unless otherwise stated.)
Ap--0 to 7 inches; dark grayish brown (10YR 4/2) loamy sand, light brownish gray (10YR 6/2) dry; weak fine granular structure; very friable; many fine roots; slightly acid; abrupt smooth boundary. (6 to 12 inches thick)
E1--7 to 12 inches; brown (10YR 5/3) loamy sand; weak medium granular structure; very friable; common fine roots; about 2 percent gravel; moderately acid; clear wavy boundary.
E2--12 to 18 inches; yellowish brown (10YR 5/4) loamy sand; weak fine subangular blocky structure; very friable; few fine roots; about 3 percent gravel; moderately acid; clear wavy boundary. (Combined thickness of the E horizon is 0 to 22 inches)
2Bt1--18 to 30 inches; brown (7.5YR 4/4) gravelly sandy loam; weak coarse subangular blocky structure; firm; few fine roots; few thin clay films on faces of peds; about 15 percent gravel; slightly acid; gradual wavy boundary.
2Bt2--30 to 34 inches; brown (7.5YR 4/4) gravelly sandy clay loam; weak coarse subangular blocky structure; firm; common thin and medium clay films on faces of peds; about 15 percent gravel; neutral; abrupt irregular boundary. (The combined thickness of the Bt horizon ranges from 7 to 26 inches.)
3C--34 to 60 inches; grayish brown (10YR 5/2) stratified gravel and coarse sand; single grain; loose; strong effervescence; moderately alkaline.
TYPE LOCATION: Clinton County, Michigan; about 1 1/2 miles north and 3/4 miles west of Bath; 1090 feet south and 450 feet west of northeast corner sec. 6, T. 5 N., R. 1 W.
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS: The thickness of the solum ranges and depth to the sand and gravel substratum ranges from 20 to 40 inches and corresponds to the depth to carbonates. The solum ranges from moderately acid to moderately alkaline. Rock fragments, dominantly gravel, range from 1 to 30 percent in the solum and from 2 to 55 percent in the 3C horizon.
The Ap horizon has hue of 7.5YR or 10YR, or is neutral, value of 2.5 to 5,(6 dry) and chroma of 0 to 3. It is loamy fine sand, loamy sand, sandy loam, fine sandy loam, loam, gravelly loamy sand or gravelly sandy loam. Some pedons have an A horizon with similar colors and textures to the Ap horizon. The thickness of the A horizons ranges from 0 to 3 inches.
The E horizon has hue of 7.5YR or 10YR, value of 4 to 6, and chroma of 2 or 3 to 6. It is loamy fine sand, loamy sand, sandy loam, fine sandy loam, gravelly loamy sand or gravelly sandy loam.
The 2Bt horizon can have hue of 10YR to 5YR hue, value of 3 to 6, and chroma of 3 to 6. They are sandy loam, coarse sandy loam, fine sandy loam, loam, sandy clay loam, coarse sandy clay loam, or gravelly analogues of these textures. The 2Bt horizon contains 50 percent or more fine sand or coarser. Some pedons have BC horizons of loamy sand. In some pedons, the lower part of the 2Bt horizon consists of layers, 2 to 4 inches thick, separated by E horizons of loamy sand. The lower part of the Bt horizon commonly extends 6 to l2 inches downward into the 3C horizon in tongues 2 to 6 inches wide. Some pedons have Bk horizons below the argillic horizon, usually in the form of secondary carbonates on the undersides of rock fragments.
The 3C horizon has hue of 7.5YR or 10YR, value of 4 to 7, and chroma of 2 to 6. It is sand, coarse sand, gravelly sand, very gravelly sand, gravelly coarse sand, very gravelly coarse sand, or stratified sand and gravel. Loamy substratum phases are recognized.
COMPETING SERIES:
These are the
Lapeer and
Wyocena series. Lapeer and Wyocena soils have finer textures in the lower part of the pedon and in the substratums than the Boyer soils.
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Boyer soils formed in sandy and loamy glacial drift underlain by sand or gravelly sand outwash at depths of 20 to 40 inches on outwash plains, valley trains, kames, beach ridges, river terraces, lake terraces deltas, and moraines of Wisconsinan age. The slope gradients are dominantly 0 to 12 percent, but range from 0 to 50 percent. Quartz is the dominant mineral in the 3C horizon, which contains, in addition, varying amounts of material from igneous and metamorphic rocks, limestone, and dolomite. The mean annual precipitation ranges from 28 to 40 inches, and the mean annual temperature ranges from 47 to 50 degrees F.
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the Gilford, Hillsdale, Lapeer, Miami, Oshtemo, Perrin, Spinks, and Wasepi soils. Boyer soils are the well drained member of drainage sequence that includes the moderately well drained Perrin, poorly drained Gilford, and somewhat poorly drained Wasepi soils. Spinks and Oshtemo soils are closely associated on the outwash plains and valley trains. Miami, Lapeer, and Hillsdale soils on adjoining moraines.
DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY: Well drained. Depth to the seasonal high water table is greater than 6 feet. Potential surface runoff is negligible to medium depending upon slope. Permeability is moderately rapid in the A and B horizons and very rapid in the 2C horizon.
USE AND VEGETATION: Soils are cultivated in most areas. The principal crops are corn, small grain, soybeans, field beans, and alfalfa hay. A few areas remain in permanent pasture or forest. The dominant forest trees are oaks, hickories, and maples.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Southern Michigan, northern Indiana, northern Ohio, southern Wisconsin, and northern Illinois. The series is of large extent.
MLRA OFFICE RESPONSIBLE: Indianapolis, Indiana
SERIES ESTABLISHED: Berrien County, Michigan, 1938.
REMARKS: Diagnostic horizons and features recognized in this pedon are:
Ochric epipedon - the zone from the surface to 18 inches (Ap, E1, and E2 horizons);
Argillic horizon - the zone from 18 to 34 inches (Bt1 and Bt2 horizons);
Udic feature - Udic moisture regime.